Sweet ♥

Just thought i should share a couple of cards with you sweets out there before i call it a day. today's been rather productive. been doing a lot of work today. and then, we went out for dinner the 3 of us since its koopavond (late night shopping- where shops close at 9 instead of 6pm). in need of some new clothes for winter and i was in luck!

Anyway... back to the cards. i simply love working with pastels. stitched the papers and used some of my newest laces.

Here's another simple card i made. this time i used some bold colours.

That's it. i'm going to do a little bit of reading before i call it a day. again, thanks for hopping by! we hope to host a dinner this weekend for our dear, dear friends from den haag. will share what i did for them, soon. have a super fine and fun friday and a wonderful weekend!

{loved}

It was a crazy couple of weeks. we decided to slow it down a bit by taking a short brake from it all and drove to france. we went to fontainebleau and lyon and had a brilliant time. i so needed a break from it all and i think it did us (me at least) good. lots been happening and i'm really thankful for opportunities and bigger possibilities.

Anyway, there's this one post i've been wanting to write and share. it's about my mum and what i did for her birthday this year.

Mum turned 63 last october. i am extremely fortunate to have her in my life. like most mums, she cares and loves and she carries a big heart. i cant begin to tell you how much she means to all of us- my dad, me and my sister. she is indeed beautiful always, in all ways.

the saying says it all

There was this one day, when we went out to the park to enjoy the last bit of summer, coming into autumn. i managed to catch some candid photos of my parents together with aidan. looking at each and every one of them, you can tell from the photos the amount of love that they have. i'm very proud to be their daughter and i want to give them all the happiness they deserve.

I enjoyed every moment with my mum. i'm ever so grateful that both my parents come and visit us frequently. i cherish every moment when they're playing joyfully with my son. the talks, the giggles, the tickles, the hugs and the touch. i adore them and the times they're together.

The book and a little present i got her was wrapped in a damask fabric. i added a brooch and a little saying that describes her. i hope she liked it.

You're looking (and feeling) good at 63 mum! we all love you loads and wish ALL your sweet, good dreams, wishes, visualisations will be fulfilled.

I'm off to give her a call now... thanks for hopping by today guys.

Love always,

More will be written in my other blog with pictures of our day in the park, soon.

-Heart and Body Warmers-

I have just had one of the best weekend! we went to see Thomas the train on friday at Simpleveld, we were in Roermond outlet yesterday and today, where did we go? to the kermis (fun fair)!!

Did this out the blue. i have been resting from crafting for more than a couple of days now. i've just finished a big order for cute little Rosey's 1st birthday party. and after a couple of days resting, i have missed my scissors, papers and ribbons and so decided i should sit down and do a little something.

I drew a heart shape on a thick cardstock and make the scalloped edges. lined the olive green paper and backed the back with another sheet of cardstock. embellished with one of my blue fabric roses, lots of thin ribbons and laces at the side, yellow bicycle's fabric sticker.. added a crystal at the bottom and that was it!

I've just had a complete day. amore!

Weather's cooler now that we're in mid autumn. temp between 10-16c, it's gorgeous outside with yellow, brown and golden leaves all scattered. we've been taking walks too and after a long day outside, i had to keep the boys warm. we grow quite a few veges and herbs in our garden. nothing beats the feeling of pulling your own veges from your very own garden! (photo of aidan with our carrots in the garden here).

The best way to keep them warm (and healthy for that matter) is cooking them good warm food! chowders are hearty and filling, they are full of immunieboosting antioxidants, a perfect antidote to cold weather.

My Chunky Vegetable Chowder

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 big onion, finely chopped

1 leek, finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

8-10 carrots (ours in the garden was rather small sized) chopped

1/2 squash, peeled and diced

3-4 medium sized potatoes (ours was slightly small compared to normal) peeled and diced

1 ltr of vegetable stock

2 handfuls of broccoli florets

1/2 canned of canned tomatoes

150ml soya/fresh melk

salt and pepper

basil leaves to garnish

1. Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy pan. add the onion, leek, celery and garlic and cook gently until softened.

2. Add the carrots, squash and potatoes and stir for about 5 mins.

3. Add the stock and cover with lid. allow to cook for about 10-15 mins.

4. Add the broccoli, tomatoes and cook for 3 mins.

5. Remove from heat and let it to cool slightly.

6. Stir in milk and season with salt and pepper

7. Blend with food processor or handblander to a rough pouree. (the chunkier the better, so dont over do it).

8. Serve with scattered fresh basil leaves.

The boys loved it and so did i! it was filling indeed plus a couple of slices of bruchettas, fuh! we were full!

How was your weekend? i enjoyed my extra hour (clock goes backward an hour today). hope you enjoyed your weekend as well!

Love,

09♥09♥09

I have a beautiful friend (whom i wish to meet again very soon) who tied the knot on the 9th of september. she ordered her wedding cards and a guest book a year ago, when we met at a Raya gathering in Eindhoven. she was still waiting for some papers back then and for the gementee to confirm with her on the dates available. and in august this year, i received an email from her. the date's been confirmed and it was 9th of september 2009!

The names of the beautiful couple

I've always love creating things for weddings. i used to be in the business for a while when i was back home and loved all the planning and executing involved. i seriously missed those days..

The guest book

I used a lot of pastel papers. my kind of colours. they're very very soft. used lots of trimmings, ribbons and laces as well. different pages had different layouts for their guests to sign and write their best wishes. i had to think of a way so that it'll be easy for them to write and not come up with buldging bows that'd put them in an awkward postition to write!

The pages inside

The last page of the guest book

My stamp at the back

They asked for a pastel sweet cards. that's all they said and left everything all up to me. i'm glad they did cause i was able to explore on a lot of possibilities. glad they had confidence in me! i was toying around with some lanterns in the beginning but opted to go with this one instead. i just love it when everything works together!

The wedding invites

The front details

The scallops

The inside of the card

The envelopes

I snapped way too many photos of them, i just didnt know which ones to share! it was so difficult parting with them, but nothing beats the feeling of a satisfied bride and groom.

Here's to Shannen & Arthur, the wonderful newlyweds. Congratulations! and may your lives be filled with love always. best wishes always!

{Drie}

My son is now 3. we have had 3 wonderful years of parenting. we have had 3 joyful years of watching him grow. it is my absolute dream to be a mother and i am so blessed to be having this life.

He is crazy over cars. you name it, he's got them all from mini to lamborghini (the small metal ones, of course) and he even sleeps with them, all lined up next to him! i couldnt help myself but to make a car card for him, but no, i'm afraid its no ferrari!

Did this little tag book for him to mark his 3rd. it spells his name and a little something to describe him today.

A - adorable

everything about him is adorable from our eyes.

I- independent

he cleans, helps, doing almost everything on his own now!

D - delightful

there's always something new about him every single day! he is a delight to discover!

A - asks and asks!

oh yes! now's the stage where he showers us with all his amusement and curiosity. i love the way he asks. the tone of his voice is just so pure..

N - nice and neat!

he respects our "nos and not yets". he says his "pleases and thank yous" and he's neat when it comes to his stuff.

He had more than a party. he had 3 parties! and he kept saying "ik ben jarig! aidan is jarig" for almost a week after that! (its my birthday!). we didnt take down the banners and ballons for a more than a week! we had loads of fun now that he's able to understand what a birthday involves - cake, candles, presents, cards and lots of toys!

Here's what i did for his teachers at school. a decorated birdcage filled with tea and chocolates. we drink lots of tea here in holland! and i manage to find a matching flavour for each cage! lemon for yellow, passion fruit for purple, apple for green and blueberry for blue!

And as for his friends at school...

Goody bags filled with snoepjes and some party toys. 3 stars and a note saying "Hoera! Aidan 3 jaar".

An animal themed notebook with crayons, kids scissors, ruler, glitters and stickers for all his friends at school.

A party wouldnt be complete without them! baked some chocolate chip muffins.

21st September 2009

From the look of his face, i'm glad he enoyed his parties (and also he gets to blow the candles, plenty of times!)

Happy 3rd Birthday Aidan. I just cannot tell you how proud and honoured i am to be your mother, and how proud i am of you. believe in your dreams and reach for your goals. nothing is impossible, you can be anything. i wish only the best and all the good things for you. i adore and love you with all my heart and might.

Thank you to you guys who remembered, who texed and thank you for the cards and presents. we love you guys!

Aidan's already fast asleep and i'm curently waiting for Hardy to come home from Barcelona. have a great weekend everyone, cant wait for x factor tomorrow! (yes, i am a sucker when it comes to the x factor!)

Good night, sweet dreams..

What It Really Means

I am in my own little world when i'm crafting.

It allows me to be beyond what i am.

My parents always tell me, when you want to be something, be the best. it doesnt matter what -let it be a worker, a mother, a crafter, just be the best that you can be, putting all your effort into it.

Crafting is more than just love for me, it has always been a passion.

My craftrom is like a little playground for me where i get to play with a lot of materials. i love the feel of fabrics, papers and other embellishments. i get to explore and push my creative side from ideas in my head into reality, to actually holding them.

I'm the sort who'd stand infront of shop displays and look at how they disply and showcase.when i was small, whenever we're at a shopping mall, i'd run to the stationary department first, checking out the card and gifts section (in fact, i still do!) i make cards and keepsakes since i was in primary school and eversince i was a little, little girl i love collecting gift wrappers and paperbags and paste them on my wall! i remember i used to cut out those beautiful pictures in mum's Home&Garden magazines. i've always

loved boxes and packaging, refusing mum and dad to throw away those perfume boxes, chocolate boxes.... i then put them all together, what i saw and collect, into something. most of the time i love giving presents more than receiving. and when someone asks for help to make something, i'd be the first one to jump out of my seat and say "me! me!"

It allows me to share, share my love and passion. it allows me to inspire and be inspired. it allows me to think. it allows me to challenge myself.

It creates happiness, a satisfaction kind of feeling leaving you feeling all warm and proud of yourself when something's done (no matter how bad it turns at least i've tried!)

It also allows me to 'escape' from the real world for a little while. the real world sometimes can be a little bit harsh and unfair. there might also be some people sticking their noses into someone else's home and business, the gossips and the bad mouths... i am at ease with myself when i craft. i get away from all of these and stay away from all those.

Its tough to find a balance in the beginning. but the most important thing for me are my family, my home and caring and providing for all of them.

Support means everything to me. i am ever so grateful to mum and dad for always encouraging me to be what i want to be. law wasnt at all for me, and i will always be grateful to them for having my back at all times, understanding my passion, having faith and believing in me. and of course thanking my two boys hardy and aidan as well!

Nothing comes close to being a wife and a mother but i enjoy having a little bit of 'me time' once in a while. it allows me to grow into my own person and explore those endless possibilities and creativities within me.

Having said all that, i am grateful that i get to share them with you guys. knowing i've made some smile at some parts of the world makes me want to share more! i enjoyed reading all of your comments. its a wonderful feeling knowing that we share something in common! i wish you all the love and may we all continue doing what we love!

Aidan picked us a winner for my final september giveaway! he picked a "bloemetje" (a little flower) and here's our lucky winner!

Our lucky winner is...

Betsabe!

Congratulations my dear! will get the items ready to be shipped for you!

Thank you girls for playing along. another very special date coming up and i can smell some yummy sweet stuff out for grabs. so do hop by!

Wishing you joy in everything you do.

Love,

{3rd & Final September Giveaway}

Gosh, where did september go? september passed so quick and before you know it we're almost ending the year! again, as promised, here's the 3rd and final september giveaway! the lot includes papers, girly chipboard (as pictured above), stickers, brads, blooms, cardstock words, ribbons, tags.. plenty to embellish and craft!

Epoxy stickers

Cardstock words

What you need to do is simply write a comment in here with these details:

1. your name and email address

2. your hobby

3. what it means to you

The lucky winner will receive all the items posted to you!

The whole lot of the 3rd giveaway!

And as usual, Aidan will pick one winner on the 11th october. so the draw opens from now to the 11th! good luck girls!

{Dank u well}

Sorry for the delay girls. the past week's been very busy indeed i havent had the chance to even sit down and even stretch my legs. we have some guests staying over for a week and hardy's away since monday. monday was also Aidan's birthday, he is now 3! we had such a wonderful time and ended the day with a story of what happened exactly 3 years ago. and guess who ended up crying!?

Will share the gifts i've made for him and his friends as well as teachers soon. (p.s: Dank u well is thank you in dutch)

In the meantime, i'd like to thank each and every single one of you for being so incredibly patient. thank you! i know you've been eagerly waiting for the draw but i had to lend my computer to a friend. we did drew up a name last monday, as promised but didnt get the chance to let everyone know who the winner is... to those who joined slightly later, i'm sorry you guys are a tad bit late as we already drew up a winner, but look forward to the next one! i promise there'll still be tonnes of pretty yummy stuff!

I asked Aidan to pick a star and he picked one.... (should have focused on his hand and the star instead!)

... the winner is ...

Ms Daisy!!!!!!

Looks like your lucky star is shinning upon you this time my dear! will email you soon to get your address! hope you'll enjoy all those sweet baby stuff!

One last giveaway at the end of the month guys! thanks ever so much for participating! enjoyed reading each and every one of your favourite childhood memories! i had tonnes! i've had a good childhood and i thank my parents for giving me and showering me with all their love. there's simply too many good memories to share! i wish aidan lots of happy childhood memories from now onwards.. i'll make sure he'll experience new things and will have lots and lots of fun growing up!

Till my next post, much love,

September Giveaway #2

A week from today, Aidan will turn 3. i cant begin to tell you how much i adore him and how blessed Hardy and i are to see him grow right infront of our eyes. everyday he learns something new. everyday, he'll come up with witty chatty lines, and everyday we learn something new about him. i am ever so grateful and thankful for this blessing and opportunity..

As promised, i'm giving out some beautiful stuff to mark Aidan's 3rd birthday this month. so here are some yummy baby stickers, chipboards, papers, rub ons, tags, laces, metal charms and embellishments.

What you need to do is just simply:

1. write a comment in here

2. include your name and email address

3. spread a word about this giveaway on your blog (if you have one) OR if you dont have a blog, be sure to be a follower on either my facebook page or this blog.

and lastly, for me to get to know you better,

4. what is/are your favourite childhood memory/ies.

The second draw will be on Aidan's birthday 21st September.

The whole lot of september giveaway #2

I know i kept saying this, but i am so behind in replying emails, msgs on facebook and sending out bills. to those who have emailed me with questions and orders, i'd appreciate it if you could email me again and i will reply right away. my inbox is just swamped with msgs! bear with me please..

Good Luck, have a wonderful week ahead!

With much love,

.. and the LUCKY winner is..

Good morning girls! i woke up today and cant wait for Aidan to pick a winner for our giveaway! he finished his glass of milk and cornflakes and later had a slice of bread and right after he was done with breakfast, i asked him to pick one circle as our winner!Thanks ever so much for participating! i'm now compiling stuff for the second giveaway soon! thanks for letting me know a little bit more about you girls.. it has made me smile indeed!

Almost everything inspire me- from fabrics to music, fresh flowers to gardens... i buy magazines and admire all the home furnishings and interiors. shop windows and displays... and the internet too is my source of inspiration but if you really must know, currently its music! i sometimes sit down with everything around me not knowing how to start, what to do, but once i have my music on, then everything will then flow! the range is from country to rock! french to jazz- (dixie chics to kings of leon, carla bruni to billy taylor) i know!! what a range! all depends on my mood (and the season too! i'd normally put a fast song during winter and a jazzy one in the spring!) i just have to have a background music when i craft.

What about you? what kind of music do you like? do you craft with the music on too?

Anyway... thought i'd share another today. here's a card i made for a friend who welcomed us to her home in Dubai last summer. she bakes cute cupcakes! we had a wonderful time in Dubai even with the temp. of 47c!!

Thanking you for stopping by today! do hop by again for my 2nd and 3rd giveaway! you might be the lucky one!

And the lucky one for September's giveaway #1 is...

NURAIN

Congratulations Nurain!! will be in touch to get your address! enjoy them!

Many thanks girls, and much love,